Ukraine fires UK-made Storm Shadow missiles at targets inside Russia for first time Russia-Ukraine war live

The UK and Moldova launched a new defence and security partnership on Wednesday in the face of threats from Russia, the UK government announced.

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The initiative was disclosed as British foreign secretary, David Lammy, visited the Moldovan capital Chisinau, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

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The UK foreign ministry said the pact was about “building on extensive cooperation between the two countries and strengthening Moldovan resilience against external threats”.

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“Moldova is a vital security partner for the UK, which is why to reinforce their resilience against Russian aggression and to keep British streets safe, I am deepening cooperation on irregular migration and launching a new defence and security partnership,” said Lammy.

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Moldova has been looking eastwards with unease since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The war has forced millions of civilians to flee their homes in Ukraine, including tens of thousands to Moldova, with more than 50,000 Ukrainian children now living in the country, the UK statement said.

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Earlier this month, Moldova’s pro-European president, Maia Sandu, won re-election after a tense vote overshadowed by allegations of Russian meddling. It came just two weeks after a referendum in which Moldovans voted by a razor-thin margin in favour of joining the EU.

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The two votes laid bare divisions in the former Soviet republic, reports AFP. A large diaspora and those in the capital mostly favour joining the EU, while rural areas and the pro-Russian separatist regions of Transnistria and Gagauzia are against.

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Dan Sabbagh in Kyiv and Andrew Roth in Washington report on the use of Storm Shadow missiles

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Ukraine has fired UK-made Storm Shadow missiles into Russia for the first time since the beginning of the conflict, the Guardian understands according to multiple sources.

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The decision to approve the strikes was made in response to the deployment of more than 10,000 North Korean troops on Russia’s border with Ukraine in what UK and US officials have warned was a major escalation of the nearly three-year-old conflict.

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The Guardian earlier this week reported that the UK would soon approve Storm Shadow missiles for use inside Russia after the US president, Joe Biden, agreed to do the same for the similar American Atacms weapon.

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It was not immediately clear what Ukraine used the Storm Shadow missiles to target. Unconfirmed images distributed via the Telegram messaging app appeared to show fragments of the missile at a location with the Kursk region. One weapons expert, Trevor Ball, formerly of the US Army said the images circulating did show Storm Shadow fragments though he could verify if they were current or old pictures.

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The strike came one day after Ukraine used US-supplied missiles to strike targets in the Bryansk region. Western officials have indicated that they’re specifically targeting the North Korean buildup in the region as well as infrastructure that may be used for a 50,000-strong offensive against a Ukrainian incursion into the region.

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Vladimir Putin has warned that the use of US and UK-made missiles inside Russia’s borders would be tantamount to Nato entering into a direct conflict with Moscow.

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The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, has confirmed that the Biden administration will allow Ukraine to use American-supplied antipersonnel land mines to help fight off Russian forces.

n Speaking to reporters on Wednesday during a trip to Laos, Associated Press reported that the shift in policy follows changing tactics by the Russians.

n Austin said Russian ground troops are leading the movement on the battlefield, rather than forces more protected in armoured carriers, so Ukraine has “a need for things that can help slow down that effort on the part of the Russians.”

n “The land mines that we would look to provide them would be land mines that are not persistent, you know, we can control when they would self-activate, self-detonate and that makes it, you know, far more, safer eventually than the things that they are creating on their own,” Austin said.

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Ukraine’s main directorate of intelligence has accused Russia of spreading misinformation that there would be a large-scale attack today in what it described as “a massive information-psychological attack”

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Reuters quotes the agency statement saying “A message is being spread via messengers and social networks … about the threat of a ‘particularly massive’ missile and bomb strike on Ukrainian cities today. This message is a fake, it contains grammatical errors typical of Russian information and psychological operations.”

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Earlier Italy, Spain and Greece followed the US in closing their Kyiv embassies over attack fears. The US embassy said it had received “specific information” of a potential significant air attack and would be closed.

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The UK embassy in Kyiv remained open, while Germany’s embassy remained open in a limited capacity.

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Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports that Italy, Spain and Greece have all also closed their embassies in Kyiv today.

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The US embassy earlier said it had received “specific information” of a potential significant air attack and would be closed.

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Suspilne reports that the intelligence indicates a combined drone and missile attack on the capital, and is not thought to be related to Russia’s change in its nuclear doctrine yesterday.

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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has reiterated that a “freeze” of the conflict in Ukraine along the existing frontlines would be unacceptable to the Russian Federation.

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During his daily press briefing, Peskov declined to comment when asked about the US embassy closing in Kyiv, but said that Russia believed the outgoing Joe Biden administration had shown that it is fully committed to continuing the war in Ukraine and is doing everything possible to achieve that.

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Peskov said president Vladimir Putin’s itinerary had not been altered by the decision of the US that Ukraine could use longer range missiles against Russia, but has ordered security checks on critical infrastructure facilities, including the Crimean Bridge across the Kerch Strait.

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The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Wednesday it detained a German citizen who had been allegedly involved in organising the explosion at a gas distribution station in Kaliningrad in March this year and had been trying to enter Russia, according to state media.

n Russia detained the German national, named as Nikolai Gaiduk, on sabotage charges. Authorities said he “is implicated in the March 2024 explosion at a gas distribution station” in Kaliningrad, the Russian region sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.

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The man had returned to Russia “to organise acts of sabotage on local energy infrastructure”, according to a statement by the FSB, which was quoted by news agencies.

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A video confession by the man was shown on state television.

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Dan Sabbagh is the Guardian’s defence and security editor, reporting from Kyiv

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Ukraine’s power network is at “heightened risk of catastrophic failure” after Russia’s missile and drone attack on Sunday, Greenpeace has warned, raising fears about the safety of the country’s three operational nuclear power stations.

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The strikes by Moscow were aimed at electricity substations “critical to the operation of Ukraine’s nuclear plants” and there is a possibility that the reactors could lose power and become unsafe, according to a briefing note prepared for the Guardian.

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Shaun Burnie, nuclear expert at Greenpeace Ukraine, said:

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n

It is clear that Russia is using the threat of a nuclear disaster as a major military lever to defeat Ukraine. But by undertaking the attacks Russia is risking a nuclear catastrophe in Europe, which is comparable to Fukushima in 2011, Chornobyl in 1986 or even worse.

n

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The pressure group called on Russia to immediately halt its attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid and for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to deploy permanent monitors in substations critical to the country’s nuclear plants. The IAEA conducted one inspection in late October, but has not committed to return.

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Some of 10,900 North Korean troops sent to Kursk have been fighting in elite Russian airborne and marine units against Ukraine, according to a lawmaker on the intelligence committee of the South Korean parliament.

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Park Sun-won, citing the South’s spy agency, said North Korea had also shipped additional arms for the war in Ukraine, including self-propelled howitzers and multiple rocket launchers.

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Park added that the North Korean foreign minister Choe Son Hui’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow this month was unusual in terms of protocol, and likely went beyond exchanging greetings, to cover more significant issues including a possible visit to Russia by Kim Jong-un. The spy agency was still trying to determine the exact number of North Korean troop casualties and whether any had surrendered amid conflicting information, Park said.

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The US embassy in Kyiv has received “specific information” of a potential significant air attack on Wednesday and will be closed, the US Department of State Consular Affairs said in a post on X.

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It recommended US citizens to be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced.

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The US president, Joe Biden, has authorised the provision of antipersonnel landmines to Ukraine, according to reports, in a step that will bolster Kyiv’s defence against advancing Russian troops but also attract criticism from arms control groups.

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Ukraine had committed not to use the mines in densely populated areas, an unnamed official told the Washington Post, which first reported the development.

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It comes as Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin – already angered by the Biden administration allowing Ukraine to use US-supplied longer-range missiles to strike targets deeper within Russian territory – formally lowered the threshold for Moscow’s use of its nuclear weapons. A hotline in place to deflate crises between the Kremlin and the White House, created after the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, was not being used, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, amid the highest tensions between Russia and the west in decades. Putin has altered Russia’s so-called “nuclear doctrine” several times since the invasion of Ukraine, without ever making good on nuclear threats.

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North Korean troops have participated in some battles as part of Russia’s airborne and marine units, while Pyongyang has shipped additional arms including mechanised howitzers and rocket launchers to Russia, a South Korean lawmaker has said, citing his country’s spy agency. The agency was still trying to determine the exact number of North Korean troop casualties, Park Sun-won said.

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Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Fox News that his country “will lose” its war against Russia if the US cuts military funding to Kyiv. “If they cut, we will – I think we will lose,” said the Ukrainian president. “We will fight. We have our production, but it’s not enough to prevail. And I think it’s not enough to survive.” The US president-elect, Donald Trump, is a vocal sceptic of the billions that the Biden administration has given to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in 2022. Trump’s surrogates have voiced vehement criticism of Biden’s decision to let Ukraine use US-supplied long-range missiles for attacks inside Russia, accusing him of a dangerous escalation.

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With Russia gaining ground, and increasing talk of negotiations, Ukraine is wary of being at a disadvantage when it comes to hashing out a peace settlement. Zelenskyy told Fox that unity between Ukraine and the US was “most important.” Trump, he said, could influence Vladimir Putin to end the war, “because he is much more stronger” than the Russian president.

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In other developments:

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n
• n

  The US called on Russia “to stop this bellicose and the irresponsible rhetoric”, but said it has not seen any reason to adjust its nuclear posture. US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said he was “not surprised” by comments by the Kremlin over the revised nuclear doctrine.

n

• n

  The UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, also accused Russia of being guilty of making “irresponsible rhetoric”. In a direct message to the Russian president, Starmer added: “On day 1,000 of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, I say again: ‘End the war. Get out of Ukraine’.”

n

• n

  Ukraine fired US-made long-range missiles into Russia for the first time since the Biden administration lifted restrictions on their use. The target appeared to be an ammunition warehouse. Ukraine’s general staff said it hit a military arsenal of the 1046th logistics centre outside the city of Karachev without confirming the use of the missiles. Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine launched six US-made Atacms missiles targeting the south-western Bryansk region overnight. It claimed that five of the missiles were shot down and another was damaged. It said debris from the rockets caused a fire at an unnamed military facility.

n

• n

  Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, did not directly confirm the missile attack targeting Bryansk but said: “We now have Atacms, Ukrainian long-range capabilities, and we will use them.”

n

• n

  The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, appeared to suggest that Russia might respond with nuclear weapons if Ukraine used western-supplied missiles to strike targets inside Russia. The Kremlin said the purpose of its updated nuclear doctrine was to make potential enemies understand the inevitability of retaliation for an attack on Russia or its allies. Russia’s revised nuclear doctrine declares that a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country. The doctrine also states that an attack using conventional missiles, drones or other aircraft could be seen as justification for a nuclear response.

n

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Zelenskyy, left, and the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, right, during a visit to a weaponised drone factory in Kyiv.”,”caption”:”Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, right, during a visit to a weaponised drone factory in Kyiv.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Ukraine Presidency/Ukrainian Pre/Planet Pix/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

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  Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said the Ukrainian attack was a clear signal that the west wanted to escalate the conflict. “Without the Americans, it is impossible to use these hi-tech missiles, as Putin has repeatedly said,” Lavrov said in Rio de Janeiro for the G20 summit.

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  Ukraine’s western allies criticised the final G20 communique as inadequate for failing to highlight Russia’s invasion of its neighbour in 2022 as the conflict entered its 1,000th day. It was significantly weaker than that of the previous year, only highlighting humanitarian suffering in Ukraine and the importance of territorial integrity.

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  The UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, marked the “grim” milestone of 1,000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine by saying that it has been “1,000 days too many of senseless pain and suffering.” A statement by Türk’s spokesperson on Tuesday said the OHCHR has verified that at least 12,162 civilians have been killed since 24 February 2022, among them 659 children. At least another 26,919 civilians have been injured, it said.

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  Denmark is making a new donation of about €130m for development of Ukraine’s arms industry, the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has announced. “And make no mistake, our support is long-term.” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine and Denmark had created a “special model” to bring in investments from other countries.

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The UK defence secretary, John Healey, spoke with his counterpart in Kyiv on Tuesday where they discussed London’s plan to support Ukraine, reports the PA news agency.

Healey told the House of Commons on Wednesday:

We’ve seen over recent weeks significant change in the action and in the rhetoric on Ukraine, and Ukraine’s action on the battlefield speaks for itself.

We as a nation and as a government are doubling down on our support for Ukraine and determined to do more. I discussed this with minister [Rustem] Umerov in a call yesterday where he talked about the robust response that Ukraine is making to recent Russian escalations.

That’s the escalation in the attacks on Ukrainian cities and children, the escalation in attacks on their energy system and the escalation with deploying 10,000 North Korean troops in combat positions on the frontline.

We discussed also our plans as the UK to support them throughout 2025. I remain committed to keeping parliament as fully informed as possible and the [shadow defence secretary, James Cartlidge] and the House, I think, will understand the reasons why at this point, I’m not able to go into any further operational details.”

Shadow defence secretary, James Cartlidge, had raised a point of order at the despatch box after “widespread reports in the media of Storm Shadow missiles being used in Russian territory for the first time”, when he asked whether the Commons had been notified of a future statement related to the conflict. Deputy speaker, Nus Ghani, said she was unaware of any indication of a future statement.

UK and Moldova sign defence pact to counter ‘Russian aggression’

The UK and Moldova launched a new defence and security partnership on Wednesday in the face of threats from Russia, the UK government announced.

The initiative was disclosed as British foreign secretary, David Lammy, visited the Moldovan capital Chisinau, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The UK foreign ministry said the pact was about “building on extensive cooperation between the two countries and strengthening Moldovan resilience against external threats”.

“Moldova is a vital security partner for the UK, which is why to reinforce their resilience against Russian aggression and to keep British streets safe, I am deepening cooperation on irregular migration and launching a new defence and security partnership,” said Lammy.

Moldova has been looking eastwards with unease since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The war has forced millions of civilians to flee their homes in Ukraine, including tens of thousands to Moldova, with more than 50,000 Ukrainian children now living in the country, the UK statement said.

Earlier this month, Moldova’s pro-European president, Maia Sandu, won re-election after a tense vote overshadowed by allegations of Russian meddling. It came just two weeks after a referendum in which Moldovans voted by a razor-thin margin in favour of joining the EU.

The two votes laid bare divisions in the former Soviet republic, reports AFP. A large diaspora and those in the capital mostly favour joining the EU, while rural areas and the pro-Russian separatist regions of Transnistria and Gagauzia are against.

In the early afternoon, the Ukrainian air force told people to seek shelter because of a missile threat. Senior officials told people not to ignore the alert, according to Reuters.

That came shortly before Kyiv’s top military spy agency GUR issued a warning about a Russian psychological operation it said involved fake messages claiming to have been sent by the agency.

GUR said in a statement:

A message is being spread via messengers and social networks … about the threat of a ‘particularly massive’ missile and bomb strike on Ukrainian cities today.”

Two Ukrainian military personnel told Reuters they received messages informing them that Russia would launch more than 300 drones and also use warships, warplanes and ground-based systems to fire missiles in a huge salvo.

Reuters could not immediately determine how the messages were sent. One soldier said he received one from a friend, according to the news agency.

The GUR spy agency said earlier that a Russian military command post had been “successfully struck” in the town of Gubkin in Russia’s Belgorod region, about 168 km (105 miles) from the border with Ukraine.

Reuters reports that the statement did not specify who carried out the attack, when it took place or the type of weapon used. Ukraine has also used drones for deep strikes against targets in Russia.

Bloomberg later cited a western official as saying Ukraine had fired UK Storm Shadow missiles into Russia. A spokesperson for prime minister, Keir Starmer, said his office would not be commenting on reports or operational matters. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

UK-made Storm Shadow missiles fired into Russia for the first time

Dan Sabbagh in Kyiv and Andrew Roth in Washington report on the use of Storm Shadow missiles

Ukraine has fired UK-made Storm Shadow missiles into Russia for the first time since the beginning of the conflict, the Guardian understands according to multiple sources.

The decision to approve the strikes was made in response to the deployment of more than 10,000 North Korean troops on Russia’s border with Ukraine in what UK and US officials have warned was a major escalation of the nearly three-year-old conflict.

The Guardian earlier this week reported that the UK would soon approve Storm Shadow missiles for use inside Russia after the US president, Joe Biden, agreed to do the same for the similar American Atacms weapon.

It was not immediately clear what Ukraine used the Storm Shadow missiles to target. Unconfirmed images distributed via the Telegram messaging app appeared to show fragments of the missile at a location with the Kursk region. One weapons expert, Trevor Ball, formerly of the US Army said the images circulating did show Storm Shadow fragments though he could verify if they were current or old pictures.

The strike came one day after Ukraine used US-supplied missiles to strike targets in the Bryansk region. Western officials have indicated that they’re specifically targeting the North Korean buildup in the region as well as infrastructure that may be used for a 50,000-strong offensive against a Ukrainian incursion into the region.

Vladimir Putin has warned that the use of US and UK-made missiles inside Russia’s borders would be tantamount to Nato entering into a direct conflict with Moscow.

Defence minister Guido Crosetto has reiterated his country’s support for Ukraine in parliament in Italy today.

Reuters quotes the minister telling lawmakers in Rome:

The government’s position has not changed, we believe it is necessary to continue providing support to Ukraine in line with what we have done so far in order to achieve … the conditions for a just and lasting peace

In the UK, the prime minister’s spokesperson has declined to comment on media reports that UK-manufactured Storm Shadow missiles have been fired at targets within the Russian Federation.

The spokesperson for prime minister Keir Starmer said his office would not be commenting on reports or operational matters, but the Guardian understands that the missiles have been used.

Bloomberg also reported their use on Wednesday, citing an unnamed western official. Unconfirmed images distributed via the Telegram messaging app appeared to show fragments of the missile at a location within Kursk region.

Britain had previously said Ukraine could use Storm Shadow cruise missiles within Ukrainian territory, but Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government had been pressing for months for permission to strike at targets inside Russia.

One person has been reported injured in the Belgorod region by Ukrainian shelling.

Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports that Ukraine’s foreign ministry has reminded embassies in Kyiv that the threat of an attack by Russia has been a daily reality for Ukrainians for over 1,000 days now, and said they are in constant contact with foreign partners regarding potential security threats.

Tass, citing the governor of Kursk region, reports that two Ukrainian missiles have been shot down by Russian air defence in the region.